Door handle assembly



A. w. PRANCE DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 5, 1938 INVENTOR fill z)? I?! 34276:.

I I J ale-HAS- A r omvsy Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATE DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY Alvin Prance, Huntington Woods, Mich., as- I signor to Briggs Manufacturing Company, De- I troit, Miclrga. corporation of Michigan Application December 5, 1938,'Serial No. 243,917

4 Claims.

-This invention relates to handles and-handle assemblies for vehicle bodies andparticularly, although not exclusively, to devices of this type adapted to be manually actuated for raising and lowering the glass panels in windows and doors of vehicle bodies,; such as automobile bodies.-

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive handle or handle assembly which combines the utilitarianfeatures of a crank for operating the window panel and a hand hold or grip for use and assistance, for example, in closing the vehicle door. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a handle assembly which is ornamental in ap-- pearance and which provides sufficient leverage for free and easy operation of the glass panel without the necessity of providing the usual long and unsightly handle heretofore used.

A further object is to provide a combined unitary handle and escutcheon assembly adapted for use in manually operating a window regulator and having incorporated in the structure a hand grip.

the invention will appear from the following description and-appendedclaims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In said drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevational View of a handle assembly embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge View, partly in section, taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the exposed portion of the handle assembly shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and r Fig. 4 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 3 but on a somewhat smaller scale showing a modified embodiment of the present invention.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond the requirements of the prior art,

The above and other objects and advantages of Referring particularly to 1, 2 and 3, [0 represents a layer of trim material secured to a backing sheet of laminated structure such, for

an aperture l2 The door handle assembly, that is, that pora relatively large and substantially fiat disk-like plate or escutcheon shown as a whole at I3. The

back face of the escutcheon plate may be slightly convex as seen at I4 in Fig. 2, thus reducing the frictional contact of the escutcheon disk and trim during operation of the handle.

Thefront face of the disk-like plate is hollowed-out or recessed at l5 and hasa somewhat thickened surrounding peripheral rim portion or bead l6. The back face of the plate [3 may be provided with a radially extending slot I! for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The back face of the plate is also providedwith an integral boss, lug or projection shown as a whole at'lB which is adapted to project through the opening I;2 in the trim panel and fit into or otherwise cooperatewith a sock'etportion [9 which is car riedby the door or bodypa nel of the vehicle behind and adjacent the trim panel and which forms part of a conventional clutch assembly, shown as a whole at 20, for a window regulator. The lug or projection [8 may be of any desired form so long as it is shaped and sized to cooperate with the receiving socket or member [9. The members l8 and [9 may be provided, if desired, with cooperating splined portions 2|, herein shown merely by way of example, the purpose being to provide cooperating parts that may be releasably coupled together so that operation of the handle will drive the member I9 of the clutch mechanism. The escutcheon [3 may be connected in any other suitable manner to the window regulator or clutch thereof.

As shown in Fig. 2, a spring pressed locking pin 22 is carried bythe lug l8 and when the parts are assembled the spring 23 therein tends to maintain the pin in a notch formed in the socket 19. A trip finger or projection 24 is attached to the pin and projects into the radial slot ll. Thus, by inserting a small instrument or tool, such as a screw driver, into the slot I! in contact with the finger 24, the pin may be retracted so as to permit the parts to be separated.

Mounted upon the front or exposed face of the plate I3 is an outwardly bowed or arched straplike member or bar providing a hand hold portion 25. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the member 25 is secured at or adjacent its ends to the rim portion l5 at diametrically opposed points. The member 25 may be welded in place or it may be formed integral with the plate I3. One end of the hand hold member 25 is provided with an angularly disposed projection or spindle 26 upon which is mounted for freely rotative movement, a sleeve-like finger piece or handle knob 21. Thus it will be seen that the assembly performs the dual function of a handle or crank for operating a window regulator and also provides a hand hold or grip for a vehicle occupant to grasp when opening or closingthe door to which the handle assembly is attached.

While I have shown, on a slightly smaller scale in Fig. 4, a somewhat modified structure embodying my invention, it is to be understood that this form of the invention is intended to be of the same or substantially the same size as that of the preceding form. The operating connections between the handle assembly of Fig. 4 and the hidden parts of the supporting structure and conventional clutch are the same or substantially the same as those shown in Fig. 2 of the preceding form and need not be further described or shown. I

The disk-like plate or escutcheon of the embodiment of Fig. 4 is shown as a whole at 30 and has in common with the preceding form a depressed outer or exposed face 3!, a raised marginal rim or annular peripheral portion 32 and an outwardly bowed or arched strap-like hand. hold portion or bar 33 which spans the depressed portion and is secured at its opposite ends to the thickened peripheral rim 32 at diametrically opposed points. As in the preceding form of the invention, the hand hold or grip member 33 may be attached to the disk-like plate by welding or in any other suitable manner or may be formed integral with said plate.

One of the advantages of the modified form shown in Fig. 4 is the increased leverage of the window operating handle member, this being due to the elongated portion 34 ofthe hand hold member which extends beyond the periphery of the plate 33. The outer'end of the portion 34 having a recessed front face and a convex back face, and an arched cross bar attached at spaced points to said front face to span the recess therein, said cross bar having an oflset projection at one of its ends providing a fingerpiece for said assembly.

2. A rotatable escutcheon and handle assembly comprising a relatively large disk-like plate having a recessed front face and a convex back face, and an arched cross bar attached at spaced points to said front face to span the recess therein, said cross bar having one of its ends extended beyond the periphery of said plate and also having an offset projection atsaid end providing a fingerpiece for said assembly.

3. A handle assembly comprising a relatively large disk-like plate having a recessed front face and a convex back face, and an arched hand hold bar attached at spaced points to said front face to span the recess therein, said bar extending continuously between diametrically opposite points on the peripheral edge of said disk-like plate and having an angularly disposed knoblike projection at one of its ends.

4. A handle assembly comprising a relatively large disk-like plate having a recessed front face and a convex back face, and an arched hand hold bar attached at spaced points to said front face to span the recess therein, said bar extending continuously from a point on the peripheral edge of said disk-like plate to and beyond an opposite point on said peripheral edge and having an angularly disposed knob-like projection at its end located beyond said last named point and peripheral edge. a

ALVIN W. FRANCE. 

